Listed below are the key databases for finding scholarly journal articles, research reports, and newspaper and magazine articles from a multidisciplinary perspective as well as databases that provide comprehensive access to research studies in specific areas of study. Start with ProQuest and SPORTDiscus to obtain a foundation of literature about your topic, then search discipline-specific databases that relate to what you are investigating [i.e., where scholars in that discipline may have studied your topic].
MULTIDISCIPLINARY DATABASES
- ProQuest -- comprehensive, multidisciplinary database of newspaper, magazine, and scholarly journal articles updated daily. A good place to begin your search because the content is more focused and manageable than Google Scholar.
- Google Scholar -- the scholarly part of the Google empire. To set up Google Scholar with access to full-text journals and databases, go here.
- JSTOR -- a multidisciplinary archive of scholarly journal articles covering most major disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. Useful for identifying historical research on a topic.
CORE DISCIPLINARY DATABASE
- SPORTDiscus – provides access to full text articles on sports, exercise physiology, sports medicine, sports injuries, sports nutrition, sports psychology, and related topics on governance, sports business, and sports and culture from over 520 journals, plus summaries of additional articles and materials.
GROUP PERSPECTIVE
- Ethnic NewsWatch -- includes current and archival coverage of newspapers, magazines and journals from ethnic and minority presses. Very important database for gaining a perspective and an understanding of sports from marginalized or under-represented groups and minorities.
- LGBT Life -- the premier resource to the world's literature regarding LGBT issues with coverage that includes traditional academic, lifestyle, and regional publications. Disciplines include athletics, health, law, sociology, family, religion, civil liberties, employment, and entertainment.
- Women’s Studies International – an interdisciplinary database that covers issues in women's studies including feminist theory and history and the areas of sociology, history, political science and economy, public policy, international relations, arts and humanities, business and education.
BUSINESS, ECONOMICS, AND COMPANY/INDUSTRY INFORMATION
- ABI/Inform – features coverage of thousands of full-text journals, dissertations, working papers, key business and economics periodicals. Its international coverage provides a complete picture of sports companies, labor, finance, and business and industrial trends around the world.
- Business Insights Essentials -- provides access to company profiles, company brand information, rankings, investment reports, company histories, chronologies, and full-text articles.
- EconLit -- a database of journal articles, books, chapters in edited volumes, research center papers, and dissertations covering a wide range of economics-related topics, including economic aspects of sports.
- Sports Business Research Network (SBRnet) -- combines market research from industry sources, the U.S. Department of Commerce, various sports governing bodies, full-text articles, and newsletters provided by leading independent industry experts.
COMMUNICATIONS
- Communication Source -- a comprehensive source of communication-related journal articles, research reports, working papers, and books. Includes not only communication literature but also literature in other disciplines that is relevant to communication researchers. Search this to find studies that investigate the role mass and digital media plays in global sports.
- Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts -- accesses the international literature in linguistics and all aspects of the study of language, including descriptive, historical, comparative, theoretical, and geographical linguistics. Important database to understanding the use of language in communicating policy.
EDUCATION
- ERIC -- provides extensive access to educational research and information from journal articles, conferences, meetings, government documents, theses, dissertations, reports, audiovisual media, bibliographies, directories, books and monographs. Covers all aspects of sports in educational settings.
POLITICS AND PUBLIC POLICY
- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts -- provides indexing of the international journal literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration and policy. Essential for obtaining studies about the political and policy-making aspects of sport governance and the globalized aspects of sports.
SPECIALIZED SOCIAL SCIENCES DATABASES
- Anthropology Plus -- this resource is an extensive worldwide coverage of journal articles, reports, commentaries, and collected essays in books in the fields of social, cultural, physical, and linguistic anthropology and related interdisciplinary studies. A good source for finding studies about the cultural aspects of a sport.
- Child Development and Adolescent Studies -- provides citations to current and historical social and behavioral sciences literature related to growth and development of children through the age of 21, including book reviews, abstracts from hundreds of journals, technical reports, books, book chapters, and dissertations. Key database for obtaining research on the study of children in sports.
- Family and Society Studies Worldwide -- covers research, policy, and practice literature in family science, human development, child and family welfare, civil and legal rights, and social welfare from a wide range of publications in the social sciences, including anthropology, sociology, psychology, demography, health sciences, education, economics, law, history, and social work. Helpful in locating research about sports in the context of the family and human development.
- PsycINFO -- abstracting and indexing database with more than three million records devoted to peer-reviewed literature of journal articles, chapters, books, dissertations, and research reports in psychology and the behavioral sciences. Useful for finding research that looks at the affective and personal aspects of being involved in sports.
- Sociological Abstracts -- a resource for accessing research in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. The database draws information from an international selection of over 2,600 journals and other serials publications, plus conference papers, books, and dissertations. Useful for finding research that looks at the group or community aspects of being involved in sports.
- Urban Studies Abstracts -- provides access to critical developments on all aspects of urban studies. Topics covered include trends in urbanization, land use, transportation, urban fiscal and budgetary policy, and general theory and research. Useful for finding research that examines the impact of sports on cities.
Descriptions of resources are adapted or quoted from vendor websites.